“Together”

I remember when the lifestyle editor of this sparsely read student newspaper asked me to write for their weekly column.  I was sitting on the second floor of Lau, with my medium “red eye” right next to my 13-inch MacBook Pro.  Even though I had a Gmail tab up on my computer, I first read the email on my phone.  So many questions immediately ran through my head.  Can anyone possibly disagree with this incredibly obvious point I am about to make?  Can I come up with something new to say once per week?  Will this excessively detailed anecdote somehow tie in with a larger lesson at the end of this piece?  We’ll find out, together.

And that’s really the crux of my argument. “Together”.  That word can mean anything. It can mean anything except for “apart,” which, in fact, is the opposite of together.

So which do I choose, “together” or “apart”? I choose “together.” Doing things together with someone can help you complete a task quicker, or at least ensure that you have company while you do that thing.

Even so, sometimes it’s best to do things apart, like go to sleep or take a shower. It’s all a balance.

The following sentence is my thesis, and required the previous  words (and my own unique perspective) to elucidate:

Sometimes it’s better to do things together, but other times, it’s not.